DFJ - The Weak Yen Is Fueling Japan's Inflationary Equity Culture
2024-05-29 15:05:00 ET
Summary
- After trending either downward or ever-so-slightly upward since the 1990s, suddenly Japan’s CPI bolted higher in just the last few years.
- In the last dozen or so years, the average Japanese worker’s wage only grew at a 0.6% yearly rate, according to the OECD.
- In the U.S., both the manufacturing and services gauges for the ISM PMI have broken below 50.
By Jeff Weniger, CFA
For Japanese of a certain age, the inflation shock of the Covid and post-Covid era is a bit of a wake-up call. After trending either downward or ever-so-slightly upward since the 1990s, suddenly Japan’s CPI bolted higher in just the last few years. The primary cause: a collapse in the yen from ¥103 per dollar in early 2021 to ¥155 (figure 1)....
The Weak Yen Is Fueling Japan's Inflationary Equity Culture